NSA, GCHQ have secret access to German telecom networks – report

US and UK intelligence services have secret access points for German telecom companies’ internal networks, Der Spiegel reports, citing slides created in the NSA’s ‘Treasure Map’ program used to get near-real-time visualization of the global internet.

The latest scandal
continues to evolve around the US’ NSA and the British GCHQ, both
of which appear to be able to eavesdrop on German giants such as
Deutsche Telekom, Netcologne, Stellar, Cetel and IABG network
operators, according to Der Spiegel’s report based on material disclosed by Edward
Snowden.

The Treasure Map program, dubbed “the Google Earth of the
Internet,” allows the agencies to expose the data about the
network structure and map individual routers as well as
subscribers’ computers, smartphones and tablets. The German
telecoms had “access points” for technical supervision
inside their networks, marked as red dots on such a map, shown on
one of the leaked undated slides, Spiegel reports, warning it
could be used for planning sophisticated cyber-attacks.

The Treasure map, first mentioned by the New York Times last year,
provides “a near real-time, interactive map of the global
Internet,” offering a “300,000 foot view of the
Internet,” as it gathers Wi-Fi network and geolocation data
as well as up to 50 million unique Internet provider addresses.

The Federal Office for
Information Security (BSI) spokesman told the DPA news agency
that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Telekom has
been informed, and that the authorities are analyzing the
situation.

One of the companies, Stellar, meanwhile voiced fury over US and
British spying. “A cyber-attack of this kind clearly violates
German law,” said one if its heads.

Deutsche Telekom and Netcologne said they had not identified any
data breaches but Deutsche Telekom’s IT security chief Thomas
Tschersich said, that the “access of foreign secret services
to our network would be totally unacceptable.”

“We are looking into any indication of a possible
manipulation. We have also alerted the authorities,” he
stated.

GCHQ said that its work “is carried out in accordance with a
strict legal and policy framework, which ensures that our
activities are authorized, necessary and proportionate, and that
there is rigorous oversight” by other government agencies,
Bloomberg news reported. The NSA is yet to comment on the latest
round of allegations involving Treasure Map.

The US and Germany have been at odds because of a spying row
which has bubbled ever since Edward Snowden's National Security
Agency revelations in June 2013.

In October, it was revealed the NSA had been spying on German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's calls since 2002. A German
parliamentary committee has since been holding hearings on the
NSA’s spying activities in Germany. Berlin also announced it had
discovered an alleged American spy in the country’s Defense
Ministry.

While most of the criticism is focused on the US, some believe
it’s the German leadership’s inability to react properly to the
NSA tapping leaks that’s led to yet another spying scandal.
Merkel’s opponents have repeatedly blamed her for too mild a
response to the NSA global surveillance revelations.

Germany has also been involved in scandals surrounding the
country's own spying activity. In August, it was reported that
German foreign intelligence agency has been tapping Turkey for
almost four decades as well as having eavesdropped on at least
one telephone conversation of US Secretary of State John Kerry.